State College band Raven and the Wren shifts direction with new music

We all have things we we’ve tucked away, maybe in an attic, a closet or a bottom drawer. The question is, do we have the courage to revisit it?

That is one of the themes in Raven and the Wren’s new five-song EP, “The Bottom Drawer.” Released just weeks ago, it offers a step away from the Americana roots of the band’s past and a step toward something new and supremely profound.

“’The Bottom Drawer’ is unlike anything I’ve previously created,” said singer-songwriter Natalie Race. “I jumped into dream folk/pop. My songwriting style remains, but it is merged with layers of synth and given a more delicate sonic atmosphere than my previous work.”

The title of the EP is an allusion to a chest of drawers Race picked up over 15 years ago that turned into a vault for her songs. It included everything from completed songs to ideas written on napkins, and whatever was in the bottom drawer had some wear and tear.

“I’ve tried to give life to some of this writing over the years but it never felt settled, complete or necessary,” Race wrote in an email. “(The songs) represent a difficult time in my life I can proudly say I survived.”

As always, Race’s songs are magnetic. They emanate sincerity, purpose and healing. The songs are filled with subtle drums, synthesizer riffs, textured guitar explorations, additional experimental layers of instrumentation, and, of course, the intimately sonorous wonderment that is Race’s singing.

Race’s lyrics are embedded with clear messaging and figurative language anchored in natural imagery. She is able to write about things that are deeply personal, but in a way that they are not so specific they only represent something from her life. For example, in the first song, “Broken Pieces,” Race sings, “I’m writing songs to the beat of your heart/Though I whisper in words so you can’t hear/An open window lets you feel the breeze/Anything more you’ll blow away I feel.” The songs are filled with these types of phrases, each line connected to the last but suggesting more possibilities of meaning, moving the songs forward while re-framing what has come before.

“With any material I share, I hope the listeners can connect to my lyrical offerings one way or another,” Race wrote in an email. “Mostly, I hope my fans are willing to open their minds to the new sound and follow me through my journey in sound.”

The new sound Race describes is the collective effort of Race, multi-instrumentalist Bob Hart, musician and producer Rashmit Arora, drummer Kevin Lowe, and singer Sebastian Goodridge.

“Bob is my right hand man,” Race wrote. “We had been working on new material but I still felt emotionally stuck on some older tunes of mine. I was pregnant and felt a strong urge to get something done before baby arrived.”

The collaboration with Arora has been a long time coming and was characterized by a natural chemistry.

“It was his work with his band, Sea Offs, that sparked my interest to work with him on a different level,” Race wrote. “He not only played guitar, created synth and produced Raven and the Wren’s EP, he was my vocal coach, musical educator and was another source of support during my pregnancy.”

Race always wanted to work with Lowe, and she was able to have Lowe record drum tracks at Centre County’s Earwicker Productions with Dan Collins.

“Knowing how versatile he is, I knew he’d deliver a fresh element to the songs,” Race wrote.

Working with Race is, by all accounts, a pleasure, as those who performed on the album and are therefore “in the band” were quick to share.

“As a musician it’s really freeing to work with Natalie,” Lowe wrote in an email. “What I especially love about this record is the wide array of textures and colors that Natalie and Rashmit dreamed up; these songs go lots of different and unexpected places.”

Arora agreed it was a memorable experience that produced some great music.

“Natalie was a pleasure to work with,” Arora wrote in an email. “Her open-mindedness and willingness to explore new sounds, in addition to her remarkable songwriting and talent, soon had me fully on board. It’s overall a very special album.”

Now that the EP is pressed and available at www.ravenandthewren.com, Race indicated she is living a life she deeply values in State College with her family and will remain active as a performing and recording musician.

“I have one opportunity to lay a strong foundation of love and trust for my children and the opportunity is now,” Race wrote. “I am thankful that I can create and share digitally from here in State College, (and am) sitting on a ton of new music I cannot wait to mold into something to share in the not-so-distant future.”